During this year’s Berklee High School Jazz Festival, I had the opportunity to listen to a number of outstanding high school bands. Among them was the Bacon Academy Big Band, directed by Mr. Thomas Kessler. After their performance, I had a chance to sit down and talk with Mr. Kessler about his own musical background, [...]

During this year’s Berklee High School Jazz Festival, I had the opportunity to listen to a number of outstanding high school bands. Among them was the Bacon Academy Big Band, directed by Mr. Thomas Kessler. After their performance, I had a chance to sit down and talk with Mr. Kessler about his own musical background, [...]

As we approach the final days before this year’s Berklee High School Jazz Festival, we at the BerkleeJazz.org staff would like to present a portrait of one of the many faces you will see at this year’s HSJF: Adjudicator Charlie Lewis. A musician of the highest caliber, Charlie Lewis is also one of Berklee’s beloved [...]

As we approach this year’s Berklee High School Jazz Festival, we at the BerkleeJazz.org staff would like to present a portrait of one of the many faces you will see at this year’s HSJF: Adjudicator Charlie Lewis. A musician of the highest caliber, Charlie Lewis is also one of Berklee’s beloved faculty members. Known for [...]

Born in 1978, Jakob Bro is one of Denmark’s most popular jazz guitarists; in my opinion, he is perhaps the best, and is known for stellar collaborations with artists such as Paul Motian, Lee Konitz, Bill Frisell (Berklee ’77), and George Garzone, to name a few. If you listen to his music, you will hear [...]

On a beautiful Saturday evening in June, I sat down for coffee and a chat with the award-winning Danish bassist, composer, and friend, Kenneth Dahl Knudsen. A busy player on the European jazz scene, Knudsen had just finished playing with a Danish/Latvian group, featuring world-class pianist Aaron Parks and Berklee alum Christian Frank; Knudsen’s busy [...]

Throughout my years of playing the drums, I have had the privilege of attending clinics, master classes, and workshops with greats such as Peter Erskine, Jojo Mayer, Kenny Werner, the Joshua Redman Trio, and Dave Liebman. They all gave me something completely different: Erskine spoke about his career as a musician while Werner spoke about concepts from his well-known book, Effortless Mastery, which should be read by [...]

During the nights before Berklee’s Annual Commencement Concert at Boston University’s Agganis Arena, the huge group of student performers attended lengthy rehearsals. The band, backup vocalists, and featured vocalists had more than enough rehearsal time to perfect the performance of their tribute songs to this year’s honorary doctorate recipients. After walking into Agannis for the [...]

Each year, sponsored by the Berklee Jazz Composition Department and Professional Writing Division, the Berklee High School Jazz Festival awards the Herb Pomeroy Jazz Composition and Arranging award to a high school student for the best big-band composition and arrangement received that year. This year, the Herb Pomeroy Jazz Composition and Arranging award was presented [...]

Ned Rosenblatt is a former high school band director and current Berklee College of Music Associate Professor whose groups competed in the Berklee High School Jazz Festival. Ned has a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Music Education from the University of Connecticut at Storrs and a Master’s Degree in Jazz Pedagogy from The Boston Conservatory/Berklee [...]

About BerkleeJazz.org

BerkleeJazz.org is the proud recipient of a Jazz.NEXT grant to utilize new online technologies to extend the reach of Berklee's annual High School Jazz Festival to a year-round, interactive, web-based “cyber association” of high school jazz instructors, students, and jazz enthusiasts. BerkleeJazz.org and our partners are proud to be a supporter of and resource for all things "jazz." If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please don't hesitate to contact us.